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Director Gareth Evans Almost Got Killed by a Car on 'The Raid 2' Set

For those who took the time to see the film The Raid (or as it was retitled in the United States, The Raid: Redemption), a bombastic martial arts bonanza played out on screen that puts most Hollywood action movies to shame. Director Gareth Evans knows what he's doing behind the camera, and while The Raid was only a moderate success, audiences will still be getting The Raid 2. Evans recently spoke to Collider saying, "We should be finished with post by the end of this year and then maybe early next year we can have the release.” But that's assuming that Evans doesn't die on the set of the sequel he says is "bigger in scope."

Here's a behind the scenes photo from a series of car stunts in The Raid 2 (via Twitch):

That guy behind the camera is Gareth Evans himself. Apparently one of the stunt cars didn't exactly end up where it was supposed to, and Evans almost found himself at the mercy of that big SUV. It sounds like the bigger action sequences mean more danger for the cast and crew. Thankfully, the four month shoot is still ongoing and an uninjured Evans took the time to speak with Collider about the production:

“We’re still shooting it right now. We’re about a month and a half away from finishing the production of it. It’s got the same kind of action beats in terms of the style of the action, but our approach this time is to go way more cinematic with it. We’re expanding the universe out. We’re taking the story out of that little claustrophobic setting and putting it out into the streets and into the high end gangsters in Jakarta. It’s a lot bigger in scope. So fingers crossed people will kind of come along for the ride again.”

The small setting made the film much more controlled and added a level of suspense, but if we're talking about taking the intense action sequences of The Raid into the outside world, then we're in for some epic fights and chases. Hopefully being more cinematic doesn't lose any of the spirit of the original. And considering the first film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, maybe this one could end up getting a premiere at Sundance in 2014? That would be a hell of a place to unleash The Raid 2. Excited?

His story in V/H/S/ 2 was my favorite. Cant' wait to see more from him. When he's done with The Raid 2 I want to see him tackle something else darker and more personal.

racquetman

I don't understand the critic love for the 1st film. It was basically choreographed violence porn. The plot was nonexistent, the acting was poor, there were logic flaws everywhere.
I understand why consumers wouldn't care about that stuff, but not critics.

jacobcrim

God forbid the critics understood that they were seeing a martial arts action film, and critiquing it as such.

To quote you:
"For those who took the time to see the film The Raid (or as it was retitled in the United States, The Raid: Redemption), a bombastic martial arts bonanza played out on screen that puts most Hollywood action movies to shame. Director Gareth Evans knows what he's doing...."
This is not even close to being proper english.

Avi

it was the best action movie Iv'e seen in a long time besides MI4!
So yeah i am excited!